[iyengar06]

I honestly was surprised to see people thinking Taylor will leave after this year. However, after thinking about it, I think he's a bit more of an NFL prospect than people (including myself) might initially think.

He doesn't have the breakaway speed that NFL teams covet, so I can't see him being a high-round pick (say rounds 1-3), but he does have a lot of assets that many college running backs lack.

• First, he's very sure-handed. I believe his fumble against Washington State was his first of the season.
  
• Second, he's an excellent pass protector. I know Patch gets labeled as the star pass-blocker of our running backs, but Taylor is excellent as well
  
• Third, he can catch the ball. He's got better pass-catching skills than, say, Toby Gerhart.
  
• Fourth, as a Stanford player, he'll likely be labeled as a "high-football-IQ" kind of guy. (Which I've often felt is a little bit demeaning. Why isn't he just a high-IQ guy?)
  

Add to that the fact that he is obviously a talented, strong, aggressive runner and you have a guy who could be draft-worthy. I'd be curious to see if we have any mock draft type of people here. Where might Taylor wind up if he were to declare for the draft?

Ultimately, as far as Stanford 2012 is concerned, it doesn't matter too much whether Taylor stays. Obviously you'd love to have him back, but we're deeper at RB than at any other position. Personally, I'm fully on the Anthony Wilkerson bandwagon and would love to see him start.

[iyengar06]

I honestly was surprised to see people thinking Taylor will leave after this year. However, after thinking about it, I think he's a bit more of an NFL prospect than people (including myself) might initially think.

He doesn't have the breakaway speed that NFL teams covet, so I can't see him being a high-round pick (say rounds 1-3), but he does have a lot of assets that many college running backs lack.

• First, he's very sure-handed. I believe his fumble against Washington State was his first of the season.
  
• Second, he's an excellent pass protector. I know Patch gets labeled as the star pass-blocker of our running backs, but Taylor is excellent as well
  
• Third, he can catch the ball. He's got better pass-catching skills than, say, Toby Gerhart.
  
• Fourth, as a Stanford player, he'll likely be labeled as a "high-football-IQ" kind of guy. (Which I've often felt is a little bit demeaning. Why isn't he just a high-IQ guy?)
  

Add to that the fact that he is obviously a talented, strong, aggressive runner and you have a guy who could be draft-worthy. I'd be curious to see if we have any mock draft type of people here. Where might Taylor wind up if he were to declare for the draft?

Ultimately, as far as Stanford 2012 is concerned, it doesn't matter too much whether Taylor stays. Obviously you'd love to have him back, but we're deeper at RB than at any other position. Personally, I'm fully on the Anthony Wilkerson bandwagon and would love to see him start.